In first international deal, Acrisure plans to acquire U.K.-based insurance broker

CALEDONIA — Acrisure LLC would extend its business to Europe with the proposed purchase of a London-based insurance broker.

Beach & Associates agreed to sell all of its equity from existing shareholders to Acrisure, the Caledonia-based firm that’s been the largest buyer of insurance agencies in North America. The deal, which includes shares held by New York City-based private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners, is subject to regulatory approvals and could close in the first quarter of 2018.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“For our first acquisition outside North America, we were looking for a strong management team, international reach and significant reinsurance and insurance portfolio expertise,” said Acrisure CEO Gregory Williams. “In Beach, we have found all of that and more.”

Acrisure in the last few years has become one of the largest insurance brokers in the U.S. by pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy.

Through the third quarter of 2017, Acrisure closed 71 acquisitions, exceeding the number of deals in each of the two previous full years, according to a quarterly report from Chicago-based Optis Partners on insurance brokerage M&A. That’s also nearly twice the number of deals by the second-largest acquirer, Hub International, which closed on 36 acquisitions through the third quarter.